Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2020
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In 2020, five special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Massachusetts General Court. Click here to read more about the special elections.
Senate special elections called:
- Second Hampden & Hampshire District: May 19
- Plymouth & Barnstable District: May 19
House special elections called:
- Thirty-second Middlesex District: March 3
- Thirty-seventh Middlesex District: June 2
- Third Bristol District: June 2
How vacancies are filled in Massachusetts
If there is a vacancy in the Massachusetts General Court, a special election must be conducted to fill the vacant seat. The election must be held on the next regularly scheduled date on the election calendar.[1] Local governments that conduct special elections can receive reimbursement from the state treasurer's office for costs incurred.[2][3]
See sources: Massachusetts Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 54, § 141 and Massachusetts Const. Amend. Art. 24
About the legislature
The Massachusetts General Court is a bicameral body composed of the Massachusetts State Senate, with 40 members, and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, with 160 members. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2018 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
| Massachusetts State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 6, 2018 | After November 7, 2018 | |
| Democratic Party | 31 | 34 | |
| Republican Party | 7 | 6 | |
| Vacancy | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 40 | |
| Massachusetts House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 6, 2018 | After November 7, 2018 | |
| Democratic Party | 117 | 127 | |
| Republican Party | 34 | 32 | |
| Independent | 2 | 1 | |
| Vacancy | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 160 | 160 | |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
March 3, 2020
| Massachusetts House of Representatives Thirty-second Middlesex District | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the Thirty-second Middlesex District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives took place on March 3, 2020. A primary was held on February 4, 2020. The filing deadline for candidates was December 31, 2019.[4] The seat became vacant on November 18, 2019, when Paul Brodeur (D) was sworn in as mayor of Melrose.[5] General electionSpecial general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 32nd Middlesex DistrictKate Lipper-Garabedian defeated Brandon Reid in the special general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 32nd Middlesex District on March 3, 2020.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 32nd Middlesex DistrictKate Lipper-Garabedian defeated Ann McGonigle Santos and Mathew Helman in the special Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 32nd Middlesex District on February 4, 2020.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 32nd Middlesex DistrictBrandon Reid advanced from the special Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 32nd Middlesex District on February 4, 2020.
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March 31, 2020
Editor's note: The special elections originally scheduled on March 31, 2020, were moved amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic: state Senate elections were rescheduled for May 19, 2020, and state House elections were rescheduled for June 2, 2020.[6]
May 19, 2020
| Massachusetts State Senate Second Hampden & Hampshire District | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the Second Hampden & Hampshire District of the Massachusetts State Senate took place on May 19, 2020. This special election was originally scheduled on March 31, 2020, but was moved to May 19 amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.[7] A primary was held on March 3, 2020. The filing deadline for candidates was January 21, 2020.[8] The special election was called after Donald Humason Jr. (R) announced his resignation, effective January 6, 2020, to become the mayor of Westfield. General electionSpecial general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District (Historical)John Velis defeated John Cain in the special general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District (Historical) on May 19, 2020.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District (Historical)John Velis advanced from the special Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District (Historical) on March 3, 2020.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District (Historical)John Cain advanced from the special Republican primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District (Historical) on March 3, 2020.
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| Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth & Barnstable District | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the Second Hampden & Hampshire District of the Massachusetts State Senate took place on May 19, 2020. This special election was originally scheduled on March 31, 2020, but was moved to May 19 amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.[9] A primary was held on March 3, 2020. The filing deadline for candidates was January 21, 2020.[10] The seat became vacant on November 29, 2019, when Vinny deMacedo (R) resigned to take a job in higher education.[11] General electionSpecial general election for Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth and Barnstable DistrictSusan Moran defeated James McMahon in the special general election for Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth and Barnstable District on May 19, 2020.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth and Barnstable DistrictSusan Moran defeated John Mahoney Jr., Thomas Moakley, Rebecca Coletta, and Stephen Michael Palmer in the special Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth and Barnstable District on March 3, 2020.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth and Barnstable DistrictJames McMahon defeated Jesse Brown in the special Republican primary for Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth and Barnstable District on March 3, 2020.
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June 2, 2020
| Massachusetts House of Representatives Thirty-seventh Middlesex District | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for the Thirty-seventh Middlesex District of the Massachusetts House of Representatives took place on June 2, 2020. This special election was originally scheduled on March 31, 2020, but was moved to June 2 amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.[12] A primary was held on March 3, 2020. The filing deadline for candidates was January 21, 2020.[13] The seat became vacant on January 8, 2020, when Jennifer Benson (D) resigned to take a job as president of the Alliance for Business Leadership.[13] General electionSpecial general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex DistrictDanillo Sena defeated Catherine Clark in the special general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex District on June 2, 2020.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex DistrictDanillo Sena defeated Dina Samfield in the special Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex District on March 3, 2020.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex DistrictCatherine Clark defeated Malena Chastain in the special Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 37th Middlesex District on March 3, 2020.
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| Massachusetts House of Representatives Third Bristol District | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for Massachusetts House of Representatives Third Bristol District took place on June 2, 2020. This special election was originally scheduled on March 31, 2020, but was moved to June 2 amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.[14] A special primary election took place on March 3, 2020. The candidate filing deadline was January 28, 2020.[15] The seat became vacant after Representative Shaunna O'Connell (R) resigned on January 6, 2020, after being elected mayor of Taunton, Massachusetts. General electionSpecial general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 3rd Bristol DistrictCarol Doherty defeated Kelly Dooner in the special general election for Massachusetts House of Representatives 3rd Bristol District on June 2, 2020.
Democratic primary electionSpecial Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 3rd Bristol DistrictCarol Doherty defeated Muzammil Nazir in the special Democratic primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 3rd Bristol District on March 3, 2020.
Republican primary electionSpecial Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 3rd Bristol DistrictKelly Dooner advanced from the special Republican primary for Massachusetts House of Representatives 3rd Bristol District on March 3, 2020.
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Historical data
There were 723 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2019. Massachusetts held 40 special elections during the same time period; tied for fourth-most of any state. Four special elections were held each year on average. The largest number of special elections in Massachusetts took place in 2013 when eight special elections were held.
The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.
Special elections throughout the country
In 2020, 55 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Four special elections were canceled in New York due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2020 special elections
In 2020, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 23 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 5 due to a resignation related to criminal charges[16]
- 18 due to retirement
- 13 due to the death of the incumbent
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 21 Democratic seats
- 38 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2020. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2019, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2018 and 2019, Democrats had a net gain of six seats.
Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
| Partisan Change from Special Elections (2020) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
| Democratic Party | 21 | 27 | |
| Republican Party | 38 | 32 | |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 59 | 59 | |
Flipped seats
In 2020, eight seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats flipped from D to R
- Kentucky House of Representatives District 99 (February 25)
Seats flipped from R to D
- New Hampshire House of Representatives Merrimack 24 District (March 10)
- Massachusetts State Senate Second Hampden & Hampshire District (May 19)
- Massachusetts State Senate Plymouth & Barnstable District (May 19)
- Massachusetts House of Representatives Third Bristol District (June 2)
- Kentucky State Senate District 26 (June 23)
- South Carolina House of Representatives District 115 (August 11)
- Oregon State Senate District 10 (November 3)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- State legislative special elections, 2019
- State legislative special elections, 2018
- State legislative special elections, 2017
- State legislative special elections, 2016
- Massachusetts General Court
Footnotes
- ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 50, Section 6A)
- ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 3: Section 10A)
- ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 54: Section 141)
- ↑ Melrose Free Press, "Special election called in 32nd Middlesex District," December 2, 2019
- ↑ Melrose Free Press, "Paul Brodeur jumps into new role as Melrose mayor," December 4, 2019
- ↑ Taunton Daily Gazette, "Special election to replace O’Connell in House now set for June 2," March 23, 2020
- ↑ ‘’MassLive,’’ “Coronavirus concerns causes state legislature to delay special senate election in Western Mass, three others,” March 23, 2020
- ↑ Mass Live, "Special election set for March 31 to fill Massachusetts Senate seats formerly held by Don Humason, Vinny deMacedo," December 12, 2019
- ↑ ‘’MassLive,’’ “Coronavirus concerns causes state legislature to delay special senate election in Western Mass, three others,” March 23, 2020
- ↑ Mass Live, "Special election set for March 31 to fill Massachusetts Senate seats formerly held by Don Humason, Vinny deMacedo," December 12, 2019
- ↑ Cape Cod Times, "Vinny DeMacedo bids farewell to Senate," November 20, 2019
- ↑ ‘’MassLive,’’ “Coronavirus concerns causes state legislature to delay special senate election in Western Mass, three others,” March 23, 2020
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Sun, "Special election scheduled to fill Rep. Benson’s seat," December 30, 2019
- ↑ ‘’MassLive,’’ “Coronavirus concerns causes state legislature to delay special senate election in Western Mass, three others,” March 23, 2020
- ↑ WPRI.com, "Special Taunton, Easton election set to fill O’Connell seat," January 6, 2020
- ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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